Kinda actually a really good series!

I truly do not understand all the hate that this series got. The only thing that I saw that was unrealistic in the show was the support that the two ML's got from their friends and family, because that doesn't happen to the extent that was portrayed in the show. Support is often there, but rarely do people go to such lengths for someone else's happiness. At one point, Fah was talking about a side couple and (to paraphrase) he basically said --I know how they feel but it's not my business. They'll figure it out.-- That caught me completely off guard. I mean, it's a drama and you're not going to get involved?? But it worked with the character's personality. (Heh, my example may not sound like support, but in my opinion it was.)

The cast is all new actors, and honestly, they did a great job. The director kept the show moving and the writers didn't let us sit with scenes upon scenes of slow dialogue, as is often the case. Occasionally there were some pauses when the characters were talking, but it was more like natural conversation than a lot of BL's I've seen. The plot included the necessary drama, emotional growth of the characters, varying locations, and several different types of relationships. I've seen comments about the toxicity of the MLs relationship, but it seems to me that the toxicity was more self-induced than anything else.

I think the fact that they had to fight themselves as well as each other in order to find a happy middle ground for a relationship made this so much more realistic. Trust, love, jealousy, lust, passion, hope, disappointment, pain....it was all within these 12 episodes. It's nice when people can have a perfect relationship, but often it's a facade, hiding the truths and deceptions of one or more parties within that relationship. Having to work together towards an understanding of each other, through trials and tribulations, makes for a better bond than taking everything at face value. This leads to my favorite line of the whole series: "I'm trying."

I saw some comments about how bad the kissing was, and I can only assume that those people don't realize that not everyone kisses the same, and oftentimes you have to adapt to the kisses and physical touches of your partner. Personally I think it's refreshing to see people portray the intimate actions differently. And different moods call for different actions. For instance, being thrown into a wall and kissed hard can be thrilling and passionate at times. Other times, it can just hurt. LOL. I'm not trying to make excuses for the acting or directing. I actually liked the kisses. They were reactive, and not just dead fish lips.

There are very few dramas that I will rewatch, but I can guarantee that I will be revisiting this one. I let the comments sway me and waited, but I'm glad that I finally watched it. Although it does still have the effeminate 'I'm going to break them up' characters (which is a trope in itself) as well as the oh so recognizable fujoshi-type character, for the most part I enjoyed the side characters as much as the main leads. This show didn't leave me all in my feels and hugging myself in comfort or happiness; rather it left me more contemplative... but satisfied.

I do wish Tar would have had his happy ending though...

Read More

Ummm.....

THE ACTING:
**The actors delivered lines well, emoted properly and consistently, and looked good doing their job. I have nothing but praise for the acting in this drama. The reason I watched this until the end was because of the actors.
**My favorite character was He Le (Du Hou Jia)....he was so much fun. And his final scene had me in tears.

THE AESTHETICS:
**The locations were beautiful, even though some of the office scenes were over-the-top
**The wardrobe department did a fabulous job. I loved all of the outfits, shoes, jewelry, etc., and for the most part, they fit well. (That dress that Bai Bing wore would have been perfect without the corset-styled bodice....it wasn't flattering.)

THE BAD:
**The English title is misleading. I originally clicked on "The Girl Who Sees Smells" because that's an actual thing, and it is interesting to me. This was not about seeing smells however. This was about a girl who had outstanding gustation (taste.)
**The directing and editing was pretty bad. There were scenes where I could see that the actors were following direction instead of acting naturally. I blame this on the director and not the actors, because multiple takes are often needed in order to get a natural shot. But when whole groups of people are standing there, just staring and not reacting to a character's actions or delivery.....and then they put the scene in slo-mo.....it's bad. Often, in my head I could hear the director saying, "When she finishes her line, turn to the left and walk away" or "Pretend you're talking amongst yourselves in the background while she is speaking." It was just SO obvious to me.
**Scene transition was jarring. Suddenly you're in a whole new scene. Did they not have an editor??
**The plot. I mean, honestly. They could have come up with a better premise than 'rich boy ages backwards, poor girl's kiss cures him.' I might have liked it if it hadn't been in a real-world setting.
*The tropes. Don't get me wrong, I kinda love tropes, but a girl can only twist her ankle so many times. Even in the story, the ML goes, 'why aren't you wearing the flat shoes I bought you?' He knows. LOL
**The ending....I mean.....

I wanted this to be good. I watched the whole thing, and gave it every chance. Props to whoever cast this. The actors tried.

Read More

Spoilers Ahead!

First: the bad

I took off a full point for the Grandfather being violently homophobic, and suddenly having a change of heart. People don't do a full 180° turnaround when they are that biased against same-sex relationships. Change takes time. The script should have eased him into it. I know it's a short series, but they could have done better.

I took a half point off for the constant product placement. I mean, sheesh! I'd rather they had commercials than product placement every few minutes! I mean....kudos to the writers for leaving out the product placement during the passion scene. That would have been awkward.

I took a half point off for the barrage of love/acceptance education. Monologues such as these are so outdated at this point. Those who aren't accepting of same-sex relationships aren't going to be watching the program in the first place.

Second: The good

HOLY MANICOTTI!!! That was one of the best passion scenes I've seen! And yes, I've seen KinnPorsche. I've seen Nevertheless. I've seen Love In The Air. Etc, etc, etc. But this was one of the few that I've seen that involved realistic kisses and teases and grinding with the clothes still on, as does/can actually happen. AND! The way Gameplay fixed the wardrobe malfunction so expertly! Don't ask, I ain't tellin'. ROFL

The acting was amazing! The comedy relief was amusing without being stupid and insulting, at least in my opinion. The tears were real. There were no hesitations when the actors had to touch each other. I was seriously impressed with all the acting. If I had to rate this series without the "bad" that I have mentioned above, it would get a solid 10.

Read More

Underwhelming at best

Although I respect those who gave this drama a high rating, I did not find it interesting at all. I never saw any chemistry between the ML's. I thought that the actors did a good job with their roles, and I enjoyed some of the characters immensely, especially the 2 female friends of Seung Hyun. I know that this was a short story adapted from a webtoon, so maybe that's where I felt the disconnect. Maybe if it had been longer and fleshed out the story/characters more, I'd have liked it better.

I failed to see the "maturity" and "communication" that other commenters and reviewers mention. As a matter of fact, the main character, Seung Hyun, while responsible, was fairly child-like in my opinion. That was ok though, I didn't mind that...I kind of thought it was sweet. But I didn't find the character of Jong Chan mature at all. Age/experience doesn't equal maturity, and I found him flat, immature, boring, and unable to emote effectively. And I'd say that communication got better with character growth, but to me it was more a series of recovery missions than actual communication.

I'm not saying other people won't enjoy this show. Many have liked it. It just wasn't for me.

Read More

Surprisingly good!

I didn't expect to like this show, but I enjoyed it so much that I ended up binging (bingeing?) it, and suddenly got to the last episode without realizing. It wasn't perfect, and of course there were plot holes, but it was overall a good drama. I loved the acting, and a couple of times I ended up giggling or yelling at the screen, which of course is a sign that I'm totally immersed in the story. And the side couple totally stole my heart, as did the little boy. But my favorite character was the rich divorcee CEO of the Solutions business. She was hilarious.

This is one of those dramas where you free yourself from reality and just watch for sake of the story.

Read More

A Man Who Loved A Woman

To boil it down into the simplest terms, Kokdu: Season of Deity is a drama about true love.

Kokdu is a man who became a god because he refused to follow the Creator's wishes and travel to the afterlife as he wanted to wait for his true love. His punishment for disobeying the Creator was to become the god of death, escorting others to the afterlife, only being on Earth for 99 days every 99 years. During his time on Earth, he has to suffer the prayers of others and reap the soul (take the life of) those who are so evil that people pray for their deaths. By the Creator's command, in order to end the punishment Kokdu's true love has to tell him that she loves him. On one of those trips to Earth, he meets Han Gye Jeol, who is the reincarnation of his true love. The story follows the journey of Han Gye Jeol and Kokdu as they work to figure out the love of a god of death and a human towards a happy ending.

This story had its funny moments, as well as its frustrating, heartwarming, and truly sad moments. It was everything I could ask for in a rom/com. Kim Jung Hyun shows that he is a master of his craft while acting as Kokdu. Im Soo Hyang does a fine job acting as Kokdu's good-hearted but naïve counterpart, Han Gye Jeol. There were many other great, seasoned actors as well, filling out an amazing supporting cast for their story.

I very much enjoyed watching this drama. The fantasy elements of this show were creative and the suspense elements were good. The lighthearted elements, such as the couple running the cafe and the gods of rumor and greed, made me smile as they performed their antics. The award for best actor of this drama, however, has to go to Kim Jung Hyun, as we were able to see all sides of Kokdu, from childishness to anger, despair to love, sympathy to righteousness, and everything in between with his incredible acting.

It is unfortunate that this doesn't have a better rating on MDL. However, there are a slew of netizens that want to judge the actors for real-life drama/actions/incidents and past performances instead of rating them on how well they played the characters put before them in this particular script....and that's a shame. More than that, there are some people who simply did not like the characters or story line, but that is a matter of taste. For me, it was a good show with some great performances., and I looked forward to each episode.

Read More

Young actors but mature themes

Warning: Although this is a BL with young actors, this drama contains mature themes such as manipulation, (attempted) suicide, and sex/BDSM/sexual preferences.

This 6-episode drama centers around 9 high schoolers and their struggles with friendships, relationships, sexual identities, social norms, and acceptance/self-acceptance. That's a lot to put into 6 episodes, but I think that it was done rather effectively. It's a shame that they left out some of the deleted scenes, as they would have fleshed out the story a little better. However, the story we are given is fairly representative of the secrets that people keep (including but not necessarily teenagers) in order to protect themselves and those they love or cherish. These secrets may or may not include various lifestyles/preferences and acts of violence/harm that are shown in this drama.

The main actors in this drama were obviously rookie actors, but their lack of experience didn't prevent them from showcasing their potential for future roles. The story had a lot of characters, but they were all tied together in various ways, so it made sense to me to see that many people. Navigating the day-to-day cast of characters in real life is no different than what was shown here, especially in a school or work setting. That being said, this is still a drama, and a lot of the situations were done in dramatic fashion. But the actions and emotions of the cast were appropriate for the roles they played.

I, for one, enjoyed this drama and I am looking forward to season 2.

Read More

Amazing acting!

I'm trying to figure out how to write this review, because I've just finished it and have taken a few minutes to collect myself....

Park Jihoon and Choi Hyunwook, and honestly all of the other actors, are incredible in this! Park Jihoon's acting is award-worthy in this, as is the entire drama.

The drama has 8 episodes, which were all released at the same time. I've seen comments saying that this is because it's meant to be binged, which is understandable, as you could lose the emotional buildup between episodes if you had to wait to watch each next episode. But also, they could have done this to get it aired by the end of 2022 so that it was available to be considered for the current year's awards. (Or possibly, they just didn't have a time slot, but I doubt that's the case.)

For some reason, a lot of people are unaware that Park Jihoon has been acting for about 15 years, so he's an actor-turned-idol, not the other way around. He's not one of these green "noobs" (I hate that word) with no experience under his belt. He's had stage and television experience, plus the experience with Wanna One and his solo singing career. So I would have expected for him to do well, but he went beyond my expectations and blew me away with this drama, as well as At A Distance, Spring Is Green (which I also recommend.)

Choi Hyunwook is younger and less experienced, but still not new to the acting world. He was my favorite character on Twenty-Five, Twenty-One because he has such charisma, and I had the same thoughts as I watched him in Weak Hero Class 1. He has that strong but confident personality that is cool and captivating.

Also I want to mention that Shin Seung Ho had me mesmerized with his calm and cool exterior....

So anyway, the drama...it was violent. I usually shy away from such things as violence and bullying, because if I hide my face, they don't exist, right? No. They do, but I know (hope to goodness) they don't exist at this level in S. Korean high schools. I was fully immersed, and had to pause occasionally to remind myself that it was a drama and no one really got hurt. It was good enough that I never thought of dropping it, and even interested in watching season 2.

I'm sure there are triggers for some people, and it's probably not for everyone, but if you can watch it, it's definitely worth every 10 rating that it got.

Read More

For those who need some silliness in their lives

First, I have to recommend that you read the review from Nele_2560. I agree with everything she said.

Rose In Da House is more of a slapstick style show to promote the Be My Boyfriends 2 show. The boys (men) have some HILARIOUS moments. Episode 3 had me laughing so hard that I woke up the house. Boun and Zee had me absolutely rolling with laughter. And you can tell that the boys had a lot of fun while they were filming the entire series. There are times when you can see Zee trying so hard to hold back the laughter, and barely succeeding.

I'm most excited that Prem showed up in this. I mean, you can't have Boun without Prem....but you can, and that's just sad. So when he showed up, I wasn't expecting it and I was happy. Then he showed up again, and I was over the moon!

The special episode at the end was mostly a recap and some songs. Personally, I don't like the songs so much as I like the singers, but that's just my opinion. The rest of the series was so silly....I loved it. Oh, and the scenes from the Korean dramas....when Zee is saying "Mama" the translation should have read "Your majesty" or something similar. (Correct me if I'm wrong here, I don't think I've actually seen that one, so I don't know the reference, I just know that in historical dramas they call the royal ruler "Mama.") Anyway, when I remembered that, the entire scene made more sense.

For anyone who can watch the BL's without taking them too seriously, this is the comic relief that you need. The silliness will have you giggling. :) Goodnight! *lights off* ....... *lights on*

Read More

A Cult Classic in the BL World

Who knew that I would enjoy something so outlandish as this series?! The silliness and over-the-top actions of the characters in this show would normally have been a huge turn-off for me. But there was something so endearing, and ultimately heartwarming, in these characters that I had to come back each week.

Thi is a college student who tutors younger students on the side. Noey is a high school gangster with a penchant for old 1940's/50's style movies, and has a yearning to be a leading man in his own old fashioned love affair. When Noey tries to woo one of Thi's students, things go wrong and Thi ends up as Noey's tutor in both academics and love. Thi goes along with Noey's antics out of fear until he realizes that Noey is actually loyal, filial, and true to his word. When Noey asks to court Thi, Thi tries to resist at first. But Noey is more like a force of nature, and Thi begins resign himself to Noey's presence in his life.

Noey's antics and Thi's reactions were fairly annoying in the beginning, but glimpses of Noey's sweetness make you want to come back, just to see what's going to happen next. By the time you get through episode 11, the sheer number of descriptors for this show has run the gamut, and you really have to reevaluate what this series has done to you before you watch the finale. Trust me, it's all worth it.

Thi sometimes does the cringe, and sometimes he IS the cringe. But when Noey makes a decision, he's all in, willing to do what it takes to reach his goal. And like it or not, Thi is his goal. I would recommend this show to anyone with a sense of humor. I will say that there is about 4-5 year age gap between the characters, but the relationship between the ML's is so pure that there's no reason to worry about anything improper.

Edit: Don't forget to watch the ending credits scene each week! By the end of the series you'll understand why.

Read More

Very good show

**Mild spoilers**

The Science of Falling in Love centers around two people, Chengcheng and Yuhe, who learn to deal with their childhood traumas while navigating the stresses of friendships, university life, and love interests.

I fast-forwarded through parts of the first 2 episodes because I wanted to give this series a chance, but I wasn't hooked at the start. At episode 3, it became more interesting to me, and I happily sat through every episode after that. Although this drama was based on the common "girl crushes on boy" trope, it caught my attention when boy decides to do experiments on girl to find out if she really likes him. This series doesn't rely on lack of communication as a story base, which I found refreshing. That doesn't mean that the characters don't have secrets, and that doesn't mean that there isn't some betrayal within the relationships. But one of the overall themes of the show is learning to cope with situations, past and present.

While watching this, I had several "wow" moments when I realized that the writers took the story in a different direction from what I expected. This helped to keep the show interesting and created dynamics between the characters that I wasn't expecting. For instance, (SPOILER ALERT, please stop reading if you aren't interested in a spoiler) Chengcheng not only had one roommate betray her, she actually had two out of her three roommates do or say things that directly and intentionally affected her situation in a negative way. This surprised me, as usually it's a one-and-done deal in a show such as this. But the series is quick to show (uniquely, in a non-accusatory way) that not everyone is a good person, everyone has their own agendas, and we may never truly know what is driving a person to act. Another thing that surprised me was that even though there was character growth, that didn't necessarily mean those characters were instantly forgiven for the trauma they caused (such as Yuhe's mother.)

Although the start was rocky, I ended up really liking this drama. I liked the characters, and I especially liked the actors. My favorite characters/actors ended up being Chengcheng's college friends Meizi and Go Chen, within the show because of their support of their friend, but as actors, because of their responses and ability to use their eyes and facial expressions to relay their feelings. But there were many others in this show that I appreciated as well, including the leads.

Read More

My Dose of Tranquility-Final review

As of episode 25:

I usually wait until I've watched all episodes to write a review, but I want to encourage anyone who is curious about this series to check it out. It's like....a warm hug. It's like...taking a long bath in a dark room with only your scented candles for light. It's like....medicine for your soul.

You don't want to binge all episodes at once. Two or three at a time is all you need. The first episode is heart wrenching, but afterwards it has a calming, soothing effect. This series will take you away from your own life and let you into theirs for a bit, and leave you contemplative. It's slow and steady while still being interesting. The feeling that I'm left with at the end of each episode is contentedness.

I may add more as I go, or I may wait until I've completed the series before I update this. Just know that if you are considering watching this, and you can watch something that is of a slower nature, it's definitely worth it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As of episode 32:

Episode 31 was my favorite! It had me grinning and squealing! I love the feeling I'm left with after watching these episodes. I'm sorry there's only 40 episodes, because I'm going to run out soon. :(
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As of episode 40:

Ahh....I'm so sad that I can't watch this again for the first time.

At the end of each episode, I would sit there in contemplation. Even though I had moments of excitement or sadness while watching, it was the afterwards where I always found myself staring into nothingness, relaxed. I have never had a show, be it a series, movie, or otherwise, be able to make me feel so at peace. I didn't like all the characters all the time. And some things worked out like I wanted, but others didn't. I think that's what makes a good slice-of-life show though. Reality will show you that sometimes things, situations, people are good, and sometimes they're not. But you can't have harmony if you don't work towards it, which is what I found the people within this village setting to be doing with the help of each other.

The music was calming, the setting was beautiful, and the characters were hardworking and supportive. The village was like nothing I'd ever seen, but so was the drama. It was amazing! I'm so happy I watched this, and I can guarantee that I'll be revisiting this when I need a shot of calmness.

Read More

In response to the low ratings....

I really wish there was an emotional involvement rating on these dramas. This was super cute and I loved it, because it was exactly what I was looking for. Sometimes you just want to see something sweet, and you don't always want to be half into a box of tissues by the time it's done. Some kind of rating system for that would be great.

I watched this special episode at the end of Sky In Your Heart, and it was the perfect ending imho. Many people seem to not like it because it's not all in your face with dramatic scenes. Most of us know what we are getting into with BL dramas, and yes, they are full of the same old tropes, and no, most of them won't be masterpieces. So if that's what you're looking for, this is the wrong genre. For some of us, a little bit of romance and something to make us smile is enough, especially if we don't get to experience that irl and just want a little fantasy to enjoy.

Read More

Simple but enjoyable

I enjoyed watching this drama. It is suitable for those around the ages of around 12 and up. The drama setting is a school, and it doesn't have any foul language or situations that would be considered unsuitable for the younger crowd. It does have some fighting but it's honestly more exhibition style fighting than actual violence.

The show is based on Yu Na and her new-found friends, working together to retrieve the 7 phantoms that have been released into the world. The phantoms are basically the embodiment of human sins or emotions, such as greed, fear, anger, etc., which take over their classmates one by one. It has to show itself in order for them find and capture it. There is a question as to why they were released in the first place, and whether the good guys are actually the good guys, but it's obviously left open for another season to answer those questions.

It was pretty simplistic and easy to watch. Of course there were plot holes, but I think the writers were trying hard to fill in the major ones without giving the entire story away in the first season. The interaction between the characters was good, and there weren't any cringe moments, which is always a plus. I saw in the comments where people were talking about how cringey some situations were, but I didn't have that reaction anywhere in the show. I just thought it was cute, and I was happy for a break from the angst, lack of communication, and Drama (with a capital D) of other shows.

I am looking forward to season 2....mostly because I want to know if that one-sided crush gets resolved. =)

Read More

Far better than I was expecting!

I wasn't expecting much when I started this series, as I'm not much into the horror genre. Truly though, this was horror with heart. It really wasn't that scary, it was more....creepy. (Regardless, I did think twice about watching it alone at night with the lights off.) In addition to the creepy factor, I was pleasantly surprised at the humor. It was never "haha" funny, but it gave us the occasional "chuckle" moments, similar to those that you would experience in real life. This helped to keep the show from taking itself too seriously and gave the viewers a break from the "scare-mare" moments, as well as from the serious, teary moments.

None of the characters are perfect. They all have their own distinct flaws, again helping to make this a much more realistic show. Still, the protagonists were inherently good people, even if their words/actions/motives weren't. In my opinion, this show did a great job at portraying the multiple facets of its characters' personalities.

The actors were phenomenal. The amount of emotion on their faces, the lines delivered realistically, the physical actions and reactions, were all outstanding. I honestly think my favorite thing about the whole show was when the ML would look at someone like they were stupid. LOL. I'm all in for a second season if they can uphold this standard of acting and storytelling.

Read More